Gifts for Merry
by Aria Breuer
Summary: "Are we ready, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked. Warmth and excitement filled Frodo's heart. "I am. You have your presents?" "They're all set up," said Sam. "Don't eat that cake, Pippin! We save that for tomorrow," said Merry, moving his cousin's hand away from the white frosting. "Just a little nip," said Pippin, pleading in a joking manner. Pre-War of the Ring.


**Disclaimers:** All material from The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and New Line Cinema. All original material belongs to the author of this fanfiction one-shot story.

DoctorWhovian18 and Frodo gave me this idea, but I'll make sure to keep it canon. I know Merry's birthday isn't mentioned in the books, except for the year. So, this is really in honor of Merry Brandybuck for today. :)

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The last tendrils of sleep left Frodo's face. The end of summer was growing near, but that did not stop him from celebrating his cousin Merry Brandybuck's birthday. Preparations began two weeks before the party started. Frodo felt a sense of accomplishment. Of course he had presents prepared for his cousin. But he would save those presents for the day before Merry's birthday, as was tradition in the Shire.

"Are we ready, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, approaching his best friend and master from the Entrance Hall.

Warmth and excitement mixed together as Frodo faced Sam. "I am. You have your presents?"

"They're all set up," said Sam.

"Don't eat that cake, Pippin! We save that for tomorrow," said Merry, jerking his younger cousin's hand away from the white frosting.

"Just a little nip," said Pippin, pleading with him in a joking manner.

Sam asked, joining the two young hobbits into the kitchen, "What're you two scoundrels doin'?"

"You have my presents ready," said Merry, stout-hearted and a little proud.

Frodo let out a chuckle. "They're in here, Merry. Come out, or there'll be nothing left for you to open. And don't eat that frosting!" He was joking, of course.

Pippin was depressed. No cake! Not fair! Still he let the thought pass as he followed his cousin Merry and their friend Sam into the parlor.

The moment they entered the parlor, Merry last, Merry stared in awe at the presents. There were so many of them, all in different wrappings. Some were colorful, while others hardly had any paper. Each present was in different sizes and shapes, too. Merry's heart glowed with joy. Even though this was the day before his birthday, he was obliged to celebrate. Sam and Pippin brought Merry over to a chair, where Frodo passed to his younger cousin his first present.

Seizing the gift, Merry tore through the paper. What was revealed was a wooden horse, carved so delicately, in detail, and was also carved into the platform from where it stood. Merry gazed at it in wonder. He hardly said two words for a few moments.

Frodo admitted, "I've gotten into a bit of wood carving lately. This is just something I made a few months ago. You said you like horses, Merry."

"I don't like them. I love them," said Merry. He grinned at Frodo, telling him in delight, "Thank you. I'll keep this on my bedside table." He set the wooden horse gently on the table. "What else do you have for me?"

Right on cue, Frodo handed to Merry a long, narrow wrapped gift. Merry tore through that, too, coming face-to-face with a wooden boat; similarly, this wood carving looked just like the boat he had seen and wanted to craft in his spare time. The paint job on this carved boat was very fine. Did Frodo paint this toy boat? He had to be sure.

Frodo was quick to answer. "I know the paint job isn't very good. It's the best I could do."

Merry had to admit, this was as good as he would get out of his cousin. But hey, at least Frodo was trying to learn a new skill! Still, he figured it was time to give Frodo a good joke. "Oh cousin, we know your paint job's not the best."

Frodo asked, a bit serious, "Why? W-" He caught on. Grinning, Frodo said, "Well… how well is your skill with boating, Merry?"

"Only as good as your skill at reading long books," said Merry.

"They're called novels, Merry," said Frodo, chuckling.

"Then what's boating?" asked Merry.

"Yatching," asked Pippin, confused.

Merry and Frodo couldn't help but chuckle. Sometimes it took Pippin a little while to catch on. He was learning, at least, which was a good sign. Still, Merry looked after his younger cousin.

Merry shook his head, laughter still ringing in his mouth. "Oh Pippin, yatching's not a word. It's either yacht or boat. I have no clue what yatching is."

"Is it the same as hatching?" asked Pippin, a cheeky grin smeared on his face.

Frodo stifled a laugh. Pippin could be entertaining when he wanted to be. Merry, however, would not be deterred:

"Pippin, if we were hatching eggs, we would see them hard-boiled and eaten," said Merry.

"Mm hmm. Hard-boiled eggs. I think I'll make some now," said Pippin, speeding off into the kitchen.

Sam barked an order at him, "And don't touch that cake!"

"Ohhhh," said Pippin, slumping back into the parlor. Great, he thought his full-proof plan to distract his cousins would work.

Merry was stunned by Sam's forcefulness. "Sam, respect your boundaries."

"Merry, Sam knows what he's doing," said Frodo, noticing the conversation taking a serious turn.

Merry intervened, "But Sam is a gardener. He should mind his place."

"Merry," said Pippin, surprised.

"Merry, you should apologize to Sam. He didn't do anything," said Frodo.

But Sam was shuffling his feet. He wanted to apologize, but Frodo raised a hand in warning. Frodo didn't mean anything by it, but as a means of informing Sam that he could handle this. Oh, how Frodo hated being the adult of this friendship.

Frodo told Merry, serious, "Merry, it is your birthday and that leaves you with responsibility. Sam is our friend, and that means we should treat him with respect." Frodo looked at Sam now. "Sam, I understand Pippin's actions were questionable and you were doing your service. I don't want you to forget who you are. At the same time, you need to stand up for yourself. If we're all in agreement, let us commence with Merry's birthday."

Merry still was determined to remind Sam of his lower status. Yes, he was adjusting to having a friend that was below him in rank. He could admit he was pig-headed, again, but then it was his birthday. Wasn't he allowed to be pig-headed? While he did give a cheeky grin, the glare Frodo gave him was enough to set Merry back a few paces. Maybe it was better to apologize, before he got into further trouble.

Setting his carved boat on the table, Merry extended his hand to Sam. "Friends? I know I wronged you, Sam. It's hard for me to admit I have a friend of lower rank than me…"

"Merry," said Frodo, determined to set his cousin straight.

But Merry wouldn't have it. He was determined himself to apologize. He asked Sam, as sincerely as he could do, "Friends?"

Sam shook Merry's hand, still shuffling his feet. He said, timidly, "Friends."

Frodo said to Sam, gently, "There's no need to be afraid, Sam. I'm just happy we're all good."

"Hey, you aren't forgetting Merry and me, Frodo," said Pippin, piping up.

Merry grinned at that. "No Pippin, of course we're not. It's still my birthday and I'm planning on celebrating."

"Good. I'm glad that's over," said Frodo, grinning.

Pippin asked at random, "So, who wants cake?!" At that, and to his great disbelief, he received groans from his friends and few good pieces of advice from Sam. When the blunder stopped, Pippin spoke out of turn in confusion, "What did I do?"

Merry shook his head. "Pippin, when are you going to learn you can't have cake until tomorrow?"

Pippin grinned, "Mmm, cake."

"Mr. Pippin, there's more to life, there's more to you, than just food," said Sam.

Pippin said, delighted, "I know that, Sam. I'm just thinking of food right now."

Frodo chuckled. "We'll have second breakfast after Merry finishes opening his presents."

"This one's from Sam," said Merry, opening his gift, only to discover it was… "Ah, the many uses of pipeweed. Thank you, Sam."

"Well, I figured you like reading about pipeweed. This is the book for you," said Sam.

Merry grinned a wide grin. Well, this was one way to make up for how he reacted earlier. The next gifts he opened from his friends was a joke present from Pippin, which Merry promised he would get Pippin back on his birthday, some gardening books from Sam – something that Merry didn't know what he would use, but discovered they too had pipeweed references – and few more gifts from Frodo, all of which Merry appreciated.

As Merry ate his second breakfast, he knew when his birthday came the following morning it would be good, too. And so it was, for the next day brought their friends Folco Boffin and Fredegar Bolger, more commonly called Fatty by all who knew him, including his friends. The cake was cut and, although Merry nearly went against the notion, he allowed Pippin to have the second slice. Naturally, Merry got to eat the first slice of cake, as it was his birthday. The gifts Merry had to give were received and the small festivities began among his friends. And yet, Sam snuck away from the party for a bit.

Frodo found Sam admiring a painting of one of Bilbo's relatives. Sam figured he should do something with time until…

Frodo approached his friend with keen eyes. "Observant, aren't we?"

Sam was thrown off-guard. "Mr. Frodo, I was just admiring a painting of Bilbo's. I didn't know he had so many relatives, too."

Frodo chuckled. His perky side never gave in, even when he least expected it. "Well Sam, Bilbo has a large family, as do we all."

Sam shrugged. "You're probably right." Changing the subject, and facing his friend, Sam inquired, "How's Merry doin'?"

Frodo explained, calmly, "Better than expected. Pippin's enjoying himself."

"Pippin can eat a whole cake and not slow down," said Sam, complaining a bit about Pippin's recent behavior.

Frodo laughed softly. It was a cheerful laugh, but it was enough. And then there was Merry, who claimed this was the best birthday he had in ages. Merry would remember this day, even when he, Sam, Pippin and Frodo became separated on their quest to rid the land of evil.

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 **I wrote this fanfic five days before Merry's birthday, but I did have this feeling I knew Merry had to have a birthday. So, what did you think of this canon gap-filler? I am aware this is not an update to my other fanfics, but I will get back to them. This is just something I was interested in writing. Let me know what you think in your review. :)**


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